Machine for multicolor-printing.



No. 708,0l3. Patqnted Sept. 2-,- |9 02.

H. F. BECHMAN.

MACHINE FOR MULTIGOLOR PR-lNT-ING.

(Application filed Jan. 15, 1 902.) 7 (No Model.) 2 Shets-Shet l.

No. 708,0I3. v Patented Sept. 2, I902.

H. F. BECHMAN.

MACHINE FOR MUL'TICOLORPRINTING.

(Application fi1ed-Ja.n. 16, 1902.)

2 Sheets$heet 2.

HeIzIyFBa/wnan UNITED STATES,

PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY F. BECHMAN, OF BATTLECREEK, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR TO THE DUPLEX PRINTING PRESS COMPANY, OF BATTLECREEK, MICHIGAN.

MACHINE FOR MULTI'ICOQLOR-PRIINTING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 708,013, dated'September 2, 1902.

Application filed January 15, 1902. Serial No. 89,886. (No model.)

.To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, HENRY F. BECHMAN, of Battlecreek, in the county of Calhoun and State of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Machines for Multicolor-Printing; and I hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form part of this specification.

This invention relates to multicolor-printing presses andit-s object is to provide a web multicolor perfecting-press in which the web may be perfected in colors in an ordinary onecolor perfecting printing mechanism. The invention is an improvement upon the Cox duplex fiat-bedreciprocating cylinder webperfecting presses of the type shown in the patent to Joseph L. Cox, July 5, 1892, No. 478,503, which presses have heretofore been employed for and considered capable only of printing a perfected web in one color; and the particular object of the invention is to enable such a press or others of similar character to produce perfected multicolor impressions upon the web, and this result is accomplished by the novel means hereinafter described, reference being had to the claims for a concise statement of the essential features of the invention.

The'accompanying drawings illustrate dia-v grammatically one of the Cox duplex presses, Figure 1 being a longitudinal diagrammatical section therethrough Fig.- 2, a top plan View of Fig. 1, partlybroken to show the webleads, Fig. 3 being a transverse section on line 3 3, Fig. 1; and Fig. 4: is a detail view of one of the ink-supplies.

In said drawings, h n designate superimposed type-beds, and i 0 the impression-cylinders cooperating therewith. b b b are the infeed-rolls,with which the feed-tapes B coact.

s s are the outfeed or delivery rolls. 6 r are movable web-looping rollers.

a, f, g, Z, q, capo, y, and a are stationary web-guides, and gj and p m are movable web-guides at opposite sides of and moving with the respective cylinders.

, t is an adjustable web-guide. o w are angle or web-turning rollers, F the former of the folding mechanism, F the guide-roller 'at top of the former.

H H designate ink-fountains at opposite ends of each bed, adapted to supply ink to the inking-rollers K Klat opposite sides of each impression-cylinder.

The foregoing mechanisms are or may be all constructed and adapted to operate as in the well-known Cox duplex combined press and angle-bar folder, the press being constructed substantially as shown and described in Patent No. 478,503, granted to J. L. Cox July 5', 1892. It is therefore unnecessary to give a more detailed explanation thereof. In the ordinary operation ofxsuch press the web is led from the roll a to and under guide a, thence over feedroll 1), down under roll 6 and up over loopingroller e, then under guide f, to and over guide 9, then between cylinder'i and bed h, then over guides j k l 'm, then between bed 71 and cylinder 0, thence over guides p q, down under looper 1", up to delivery-rolls s,.and then over guide F to' the former F, or the web may be split after passing rollss and one-half thereof led over angle-bars o w and guide as to former F. This mechanism produces perfected sheets in one color at each operation, as described in the aforesaid patent, the web receiving one impression from forms on bed It and a perfecting impression from forms on bed n, but in one color only on each face or side. In order to produce multicolor impressions on the web in such a press, Iproeeed as follows, in accordancewith the present invention: If colors are to be employed,the proper forms are made up, one for each color, as usual in multicolor-printing, and the forms are placed uponthe beds, the forms for the same sides 'or pages of the web being placed on the same beds. For example, the page-forms for print-. ing one side of the web are placed on the lower bed h and the page-forms for printing the reverse or perfected side ot' the web are placed on the upper bed 71.. As indicated in Fig. 3, four forms are placedon bed h, forms 10 11 at the left-hand side being black, form 12 red, and form 13 blue. Asimilar number of forms are placed on the upper bed, forms 14 and 15 being black, form 16 green, and form 17 yellow. The colors mentioned are those to be applied to the respective forms. This arrangement will produce perfected papers in five colors-namely, black, red, blue, green, and yellow-and by superimposing these colors other shades may be produced, as well known in multicolorprinting. The different-colored inks are supplied froin the same fountain H, the latter being divided by blocks into the desired number of compartments, each containing the desired-color ink. In the example given each lower inkfountain H would contain compartments for black, red, and blue inks, respectively, while each upper ink-fountain H would contain compartments for black, green, and yellow inks, respectively. The only change in the ordinary Cox duplex press required by this multicolor arrangement is blocking off the fountains and moving the leather feed-tapes B from the drive side to the plain side of the press. A websay half the usual width-is then placed in the machine and is led from roll a to roller a, over roll 12, down under roll 12 up over looper e, under guide f, over guide g, under cylinder 2', soas to be presented thereby to forms 10 and 11 on bed h, thence up over guidef, back under guide 7;, over guidesl and m, under cylinder 0, so as to be presented to forms 14 and 15 on bed 12, thence over guides 19 and q, under looper r, to delivery-rolls .9, following thus far the ordinary course of the web through the press and being perfected in black ink-for example, from forms 10 11 and 14: 15-the first impression being made in black on the length of web marked 1 in the drawings, the second impression being also made in black on the length of web marked 2 in thedrawings. From rolls 8 the web is led down under adjusting-roller 2f, thence over guide a, under and over the angle-bars o w, by which it is deflected to one side of its former path, and this portion of the web (indicated at 3) is then carried under guide 00, over guide 3 back to and over guide u, passing in a direction contrary to length 3, and then may descend to the feed-roll b as indicated in dotted lines 4 in Fig. 1, and from roll 11 it passes up over roller 6, and then again through the press, exactly as previously described, back to the roll 5, the third impression being made in colors on the length 5 of the web from forms 12 and 13 on bed h and the fourth impression being made on length 6 of the web in colors from forms 16 and 17 on bed at. It will be noticed that length 5 of the web is parallel with length 1 and length 6 of the web is parallel with length 2, as shown in Fig. 2. Impressions are taken simultaneously from all the forms at each operation of the press at four different points in the length of the web. After reaching rolls 3 the second time the web is led out to guide .2, as indicated at 7, and then to the folder or former F.

By arranging the multicolor page-forms and leading the web through the press in the manner described the web can be perfected in colors on the ordinary perfecting duplex flatbed perfecting-presses without any additional mechanism; but in order to avoid the necessity of laterally moving the feed-tapes on the rolls 1) b b to one side, as above explained, and to avoid the necessity of running printed length of web 4 against the feed-rolls b b it is desirable to provide the extra guide-roller 1), which is journaled in arms D, attached to the cross-stay D which latter is a part of the ordinary Cox duplex presses and is located below and in advance of the feed-rolls. The return-lead 4 of the web 3 after passing over roller U is led down under this roller D, as shown in full lines in Fig. 1, and then led back under roller 1) up to the looper e, and thence the second time through the press, as described. I thus avoid the necessity of leading the printed web around or against roll I) and also the necessity of laterally moving the feed-tapes on feed-rolls b b 12 It will be observed that the web is passed twice between each printing-couple,being led first through the press between the feed-rolls b b b and delivery-rolls s s, and, second, being returned after the first perfected impression to receive another perfected impression in colors, the two lengths of web in the press traveling therethrough alike and being operated together by the same feed and delivery mechanisms, the multicolor effect being produced by using a half-width web, arranging the page-forms and ink-supplies in the novel manner described, and by leading the web through the press in the novel way set forth. When through with color-printing, the pressman has only to clean the fountains and rolls and supply black ink and the ordinary fullwidth web can be perfected by the press in one color as before. Obviously, if desired, a special press can be made on this principle to print wider webs in colors.

Having thus described my invention, what I therefore claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent thereon, is- I 1. In a multicolorweb-perfecting printingpress, the combination of two printing-couples, a plurality of multicolor page-forms arranged in each couple side by side and transversely of the press, a suitable color ink-supply for each form in each printing-couple, means for leading a web successively through both printing-couples over one set of forms therein and taking perfected impressions therefrom; and means for again passing the web successively through both printing-couples over the other set of forms therein and taking perfected impressions therefrom, the impressions from the different page-forms in each printing-couple being superimposed, substantially as described.

2. In a multicolor web-perfecting printingpress', the combination of two printing-couples, a single feed mechanism, and a single delivery mechanism, a plurality of multicolor page-forms arranged in each printing-couple side by side and transversely of the press, a

suitable color ink-supply for each form in each printing-couple; means for leading a web from the feed to the delivery successively through both printing couples over one set of formsqtherein and taking perfected impressions therefrom; means for diverting the the feed-rolls through the printing-couples to the delivery-rolls; with means for diverting" the web as it first issues from the deliveryrolls to one side, means for directing the deflected portion of the web around the feedrolls, back into thecpress, and leadi-ngit again between the printing-couples parallel with its first lead therethrough back to the delivery-rolls, and means for directing the web issuing the second time from the delivery.- rolls out of the machine, all substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own'I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses. v HENRY F. BECHMAN.

Witnesses:

CHAS. A. GRAMEs, CHARLES H. WHEELOGK. 

